Bengaluru FC name 25-member squad for Durand Cup 2022

The Blues are fielding their senior team in the competition.

Bengaluru FC, on Monday, announced their 25-man squad for the 131st edition of the Durand Cup, set to begin with a clash against Jamshedpur FC at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan, in Kolkata, on Wednesday. Simon Grayson’s side, having wrapped up a three week preseason camp at the Inspire Institute of Sport in Bellary, landed in the City of Joy on Sunday. 

As many as eight new signings feature in the Blues’ squad for the tournament, with Roy Krishna, Prabir Das, Javi Hernandez, Sandesh Jhingan, Faisal Ali, Hira Mondal, Aleksandar Jovanovic and Amrit Gope making the list. Bengaluru went down on penalties to eventual champions FC Goa with a squad comprising youngsters and no foreigners, in their most recent appearance at the Durand Cup.

Bengaluru have been drawn alongside Jamshedpur FC, FC Goa, Indian Air Force FT and Mohammedan SC in Group A, with the top two teams from each group set to make it through to the knockout rounds.

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Lara Sharma, Amrit GopeDefenders: Alan Costa, Namgyal Bhutia, Parag Shrivas, Wungngayam Muirang, Prabir Das, Hira Mondal, Sandesh Jhingan, Aleksandar Jovanovic

Midfielders: Bruno Ramires, Jayesh Rane, Suresh Wangjam, Danish Farooq, Rohit Kumar, Biswa Darjee, Javi Hernandez

Strikers: Sunil Chhetri (C), Prince Ibara, Udanta Singh, Sivasakthi Narayanan, Leon Augustine, Roy Krishna, Faisal Ali

Bengaluru FC's preparations

This will be the first time the Blues will be sending their senior team at the Durand Cup. The club started participating in the competition since 2019. That very year, even after some splendid performances, Bengaluru FC failed to qualify to the semi-final. In 2021, the Blues repeated a similar performance. But lost out to FC Goa in the semi-final (tie-breaker).

This time however, the scenario is different. It seems that the club wants to put their hands on their very first Durand Cup title. A glance at their squad doesn't make that seem impossible!